Final Blog: My Personal Experience with the #decarbonize #BlueYouth Project

Environment   Oct 28, 2016 by Katrina Finnigan

Hello! I want to start off by saying how grateful I am for this wonderful experience. It has been almost unreal getting to distribute surveys, researching how climate change is affecting our planet and collaborating with other groups around the world. I am inspired by how many youth actually want to make a difference with regard to this project. I could have never imagined my voice being incorporated into a paper that will be presented to multiple different leaders from multiple different nations.

Ever since I was little, I've wanted to make a difference in the world. I've always had a passion for helping others and helping our planet. When I received the e-mail to be a part of this project, my first thought was 'I'm in!'. I am overjoyed that I was able to make new connections to people who had the same thought process as I did. Every meeting that I have attended has been inspiring and motivating. All the blogs, survey responses, and discussions I have read and taken a part of have changed my world view greatly. I realize now that climate change is happening faster than I can comprehend and even though I, and many others, may not be able to stop climate change, we can change the final result.

Today during the Global Virtual Town Hall, it was great to hear summaries of how climate change is affecting other countries, and what their plans of action are. From contacting the government, to implementing carbon tax and reducing plastic product use, I feel that we are on our way to making a huge difference in everyone's lives. Despite the fact that we have wrapped our project with the Global Virtual Town Hall meeting, our work is far from over. There are still many ways in which we can spread the news about the #decarbonize #BlueYouth project. I've found that using Twitter is a great way to create awareness. Today, social media has such an impact on everyone, and it is the most effective way to distribute a message. All YOU have to do is use the hashtags decarbonize and BlueYouth in a tweet to share your thoughts and experiences.

Overall, I have had an amazing time working on this project. To me, this is a life-altering experience. I am so excited to read everyone else's blogs and take the next few steps toward creating the White Paper that will be presented in Morocco!

- Katrina

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